Pulled Pork

The Famous Pulled Pork! This is an amazing butt simple recipe. All it takes is time a lot of it - this is a Low n Slow recipe. You're going to be cooking this piece of meat for up to 14 hours depending on the size. We are using 2/2.5kg for this recipe which is typical for a full shoulder.

Pulled Pork Directions

Its all about timing. As this piece of pork can take up to 14 hours low n slow on the BBQ. We want the meat to marinade over night or at least 4 hours. So gauge the time your guests will arrive and work backwards. Don't be to worried if your meat finishes hours before party kicks off. You can wrap in tinfoil, cover with towels and place in a cooler box for a couple of hours. The temperature will remain.

Source a good consistent butcher be nice to them!- Send us details of your butcher and we'll try them out and rate on this site.

Meat

2.5kg Pork shoulder bone in or out - takes a bit longer to cook with the bone in.

Preparation

Always wear laytex gloves when preparing meat - you can pick up a box of 100 from any pharmacy for about €8.

Using our Pork n Rib Rub liberally rub all over the shoulder making sure to get into those gaps. Tightly wrap in Clingfilm and place in the fridge preferably over night or for at least 4 hours. Remove the Meat from the fridge and allow to rest until it reaches room temperature. 30 minutes after taking the meat out setup your BBQ/Smoker.

Setting up your BBQ for Low n slow

Setup your BBQ for 2-Zone or Indirect cooking or if you re using a Weber Smokey Mountain setup Minion - See Setups for more detail.

Add some apple wood chunks / soaked apple wood chips.

For this Low n Slow we are using a Weber Smokey Mountain at a temperature between 225F and 250F - 110C and 120C

7kg of lumbwood or charcoal will last approx. 14 hours.

The Smokin

This is when all the fun starts. While you're waiting for the Smoker to reach the desired temperature grab a beer. By now, you have taken the meat out of the fridge and allowed to rest for 30 to 60 minutes for room temperature. Grab another beer.

Remove the meat from the Clingfilm. You will notice a lot of liquid. This is ok and can be discarded. Add some more Rub to the meat and then place in your BBQ/Smoker.

Insert the temperature probe/monitor - We use the Maverick ET-733 Wireless Thermometer. Found on Amazon or Ebay for approx. 45 Euro. Well worth the investment. Set one probe on the grill for BBQ/Smoker temp and the other in the meat.

You want the internal temperature of the Pork shoulder to reach 195F/90C.

Now, typically when using a smoker we leave the lid closed for most of the cooking. As they say, if you're looking you're not cooking. Opening the lid can add 20 minutes extra cooking time. If you need to look, keep it quick and make sure the temperature gets back to 225/250 quickly.

The internal temperature increasing gradually until somewhere between 145f - 165f and then no movement for ages!! This is the STALL. Don't worry this is supposed to happen. Just sit back and have a few more beers. It will break though the stall barrier. Some pitmasters take the meat off at this stage and wrap tightly with tinfoil and add liquid such as a baste or beer to help keep the meat moist and tender. This method is called the Texas cheat and will help speed up the cooking process by an hour or two. More details of the Texas cheat can be found in our Setups page.

Keep monitoring the temperature to maintain 225/250f. You will have to add more fuel at some stage. We usual have to add more around the 7 - 8 hour mark.

Once you reach internal temperature of 195F/90C remove from the BBQ. You will have a burnt looking piece of meet. Its not, this is called bark and is the best part of the meat. The meat has reduced in size considerable. Most if not all the fat has now rendered. Wrap the meat in tinfoil and towels for approx. 1 hour. When you're ready to eat place the pork should into a large bowl and start to pull the meat apart with forks or as we do it with our hands. Wear laytex gloves again, this will help, the pork will still be very hot.

Serve on a Bap, Ciabatta or Wrap with coleslaw and our BBQ Sauce. Add some crispy bacon for that little bit extra goodness.